Aerosim Review Series #1

FSX: Over the past year, I have been watching Aerosim closely and was surprised to see 3 very good airports for Japan. In this review I will be focusing on Kansai (RJBB). I am a big fan of Japanese aviation and wanted the best I could get within FSX. Aerosim has developed wonderful airports and I want to share this with all of you. Ever since Simmer's Sky stopped creating airports after their Seoul Incheon, I was determined to find a developer who could fill that gap. And I did!
 

Aersim Kansai International - (RJBB)

Our Review

Version tested: FSX SP2 + Acceleration

Manual: 34 page manual in English and Japanese

File size: 220MB Installer

Installation: Normal install with email generated serial upon purchase. Very easy and fast install!

Framerate: Based on my system (30 - 40 FPS) sustained. 100% sliders. With PMDG NGX (25 - 32 FPS) sustained. 100% sliders.

(All sliders 100% except for water effects and road traffic)

Size of the scenery: Approx 10 square miles.
 

The Bad:
 

- Ground textures in some area's are low resolution. Even with 100% sliders, the grass areas do show their weak spots.

- Corner elevation issues around the island. Do not match properly with the ocean.

- Some building textures are low quality. (Some signs are hard to read)
 

The Good:
 

- Frame rate! Frames at this airport are fantastic. For a major sized airport like that, I was really surprised with the smoothness with this one.

- Terminal details are amazing. Every Jetway, parking position has great features. Train system is animated.

- Night lighting is awesome! Very good lighting at this airport. Taxiways and runway lighting are really outstanding compared to other airports I've seen.

- Lots of buildings on this airport! Be sure to have a look around. Lots to see!

- Highways and roads are well modeled. Bridge from airport to mainland Osaka is well modeled as well (Also has good night textures)

- Lots of little details within the scenery itself. (taxiway signs etc)
 

This was Aerosim's first attempt at a major airport for FSX. Having been to Japan many times in my life, I always wanted to have good quality airports for this awesome country. Aerosim have stepped up to the plate on this one! With many other destinations close by, this is a great place to fly heavies/Med sized jets or even smaller aircraft. (Yes they have parking for you guys too!) Some examples of my recent destinations from this airport are: RJBE, RJFF, RKSI, VHHH, RKPC etc. This scenery will give those people who love to fly heavy jets and don't necessarily want to fly long haul. Many real world routes flying here with no more than 3 hour legs.
 

What makes this airport so great is that it's located on the ocean. Not many scenery objects give people (with less powerful systems) a better experience with framerates. Flying the approach into this airport is nice and relaxing. No mountains to hit, no low approaches. Just a nice gradual decent. If you are seeking more scenery, There are some good freeware scenery's of the coastline of Osaka and Kobe. This gives a great feel to the bay area! Highly recommended if you are looking for something extra. Can be found here: http://fsx.o.oo7.jp/OSK.htm. They have made it compatible with the Aerosim airports collection. A must have!
 

Lets take a look at the scenery itself:

 Here you can see part of the airport train system. Double Jetways have great detail.

 Alot of parking at this airport! This shot is during the day so my UT2 schedule is not really busy. (Night time is a different story!)

Good apron details at every gate. The glass is reflective on the terminal which gives it a great realistic look.

             Showing the domestic area of the terminal

Here is some of the Jetway detail. They did a good job with the glass detail on the bridge!

Here is a close up of the train system. This is animated and gives a great feel when parked at the gate. May not have the extreme detail of other airports but it sure does the job. Saves of frame rate as well!

Overview of the terminal roadway. This is one of the bad parts of the scenery. The modelling is good but the textures are a little too blurry for me.

Roadway system with parking lot. It was nice to see 3d cars. The hotel looks nice but again, the road way textures bug me a little bit.

More of the extensive roadway near the domestic side of the airport.

        Some Nav aids and communication towers

The highway toll booths could have been a little more detailed.

Some more of the buildings surrounding the airport

For all you General Aviation lovers out there. This is one of the parking areas for you if you don't fly heavies. This area is the Japan Coast guard ramp as well.

Here is some of the approach detail. It has animated lights during the day and night.

                                  Over view of the airport

Showing the control tower and some of the cargo hangars

JAL maintenance hangar. Located beside the cargo ramp.

Here is an example of the taxiway signs. I wish there could have been more detail in the ground textures. Maybe some 3D grass could have been a nice touch!

Taxiways connecting the other runway to the terminal side of the field.

Here is some of the runway details. I personally like this type of textures. It's not too crazy and has that "Worn" look to it.

Overview of the terminal. Great modeling done with the roof!

 

Now let's get to the night lighting. As I said above, the lighting at this airport is really well done in my opinion. They have gone to great lengths in order to get the smallest lighting details. The next shots will showcase what I'm talking about. Having been to Kansai personally, the night textures are spot on! I was really amazed how realistic it looked compared to the real world counterpart.

The terminal itself has great textures. The glass is illuminated nicely. They parking positions are well lit!

Here is an example of the taxiway and runway lights. With all the lights illuminating at once, it gives a great feel of realism while on approach.

                    Even the Jetways have light effects!

                    Overview of terminal at night

Part of the hotel and roadways are nicely illuminated.

Cargo area and hangars have great night effects!

Night lighting on the highway is well done. This really look great when overflying the airport at night!

Some more of the buildings on the airport grounds.

Approach lighting at night. Looks really good I must admit.

Overview of the buildings and taxiway lighting.

Lighting detail with AI traffic.

Night shot from the roadway looking towards the terminal.
 

Closing remarks:
 

I was surprised with the outcome on Aerosim's first airport for FSX. I am happy with this one to tell you the truth. There are some things that I wish had more detail but this gives a good impression none the less. Sure, some texture are too blurry for my liking but this has to be one of the best (if not the best) airport created for Japan in FSX. The frames are fantastic and the night textures really give you a feel of (being there). I will continue to enjoy this product and hope to see more developers tackling Japanese airports in the future.
 

If some of you are looking for a destination within Japan/Asia, I would highly recommend checking out this airport! Aerosim has done a great job. If there were more detailed ground textures, 3D grass and maybe some custom airport vehicles, I would give it a higher score. My final score for this great product is 7/10. Hope to see an update for the airport in the near future.
 

As Always,
 

Happy flying!
 

Tino.
 

Aerosim website: http://www.aerosim.co.jp/eigo/page1_e.htm